I've played with a couple different types of RPers. Some folks I know are extensive backstories types who love using tabletop games as an excuse to create their own characters and stories that interest them; they get really into the setting and do lots of research on lore. Other folks are notorious self-inserters who are just literally themselves dicking around in high fantasy environments with cool magic powers. And then there are those who just roleplay thinly-veiled recolors of characters that already exist from fiction they enjoy.

I'm 99% the blatant THIS-IS-MY-ORIGINAL-CHARACTER-DO-NOT-STEAL *traces over a screencap from my favorite anime* type. I am currently playing a campaign with some work friends where I am a half-elf whose elf father and half-elf sister both died tragically. I also managed to convince the DM that in this universe elves come from space. My name is Mithos Briefs (it was either that or Trunks Yggdrasill but the DM warmed up to Mithos Briefs a little more). However, throughout the entirety of highschool I was basically just the same axe-wielding dragon-obsessed lesbian in every single campaign. That was fun too.

I've never succeeded at taking my characters too seriously, but I know some folks who are REALLY good at that. Anyway. What's your style? What kind of nerd are you?

[QUOTE="CuccoLady, post: 1597997, member: 30977"]And then there are those who just roleplay thinly-veiled recolors of characters that already exist from fiction they enjoy.[/QUOTE]
This, basically. The details depends on who I like at the time.
Meaning, right now, avoid me like the plague. ;P

I've never played an honest-to-Gottfried tabletop RPG before. But whenever I do roleplay, my characters tend to be a near opposite of my IRL personality: flamboyant, outgoing, cocky, and hypersexual. Kind of like Valigarmander in general, actually.

Strangest is probably Royce "Stardust" Hughs the Fighter that acts like an anime protagonist. He was my first and he's the bet leaper in Highwall. That's mostly because he's all strength and Leap Attack is beastly powerful.

My go to is a Horny Backstabbing Dwarf out to collect his gold that was leaked away, he is a silly character that is fun to play... I would say he is a original character cause i don't try to back stab people with giant warhamers (He dosen't either but that is because all the DMs been poopy pants)

I'm the kind of player who goes, "Hm, let me make an exciting new character" and after erasing my character sheet five thousand times I end up just playing as the same character that I played last round. Adder Baalum. One of my first original characters I wrote. Typically some kind of wanderer/hermit who can't get over the death of his first love but must overcome it in order to live the life he always wanted.

Mithos Briefs's adventure has continued since I made this thread, and as much as I made him as a joke character to reconcile my obsession with both DBZ and ToS at the time, he has since transformed into a very angsty character study of Mithos Yggdrasill. He doesn't resemble Trunks much anymore, other than the purple hair.

[QUOTE="Valigarmander, post: 1598008, member: 30663"]I've never played an honest-to-Gottfried tabletop RPG before. [/QUOTE]
Same. If I have the choice in character creation for video games, though, I basically never play as a human. Why would I want to roleplay a race that I already am, when there are so many others available to me? I was a Tauren and Dranei in WoW, and I played a Khajit in Skyrim.

Mithos Yggdrasill died, and my current character is named Apollo the Just. He is a 100% original character.

- Tiefling with two horns on his head that (purely coincidentally) look like Apollo Justice's dumb hair spikes
- lawful good tiefling. It took some convincing via 4 pages of backstory to get the DM to agree to that one.
- Light cleric
- Almost got his hand cut off, resulting in an almost fully paralyzed hand that is only capable of the motion of extending its pointer finger
- casts spells by extending this pointer finger and screaming
- Holy symbol is a gold bracelet covering the wrist scar
- uses Thaumaturgy to make his voice boom when he's yelling at/lecturing someone
- wastes half of his spell slots on Zone of Truth (and/or healing useless NPCs)
- good at Perception checks

Like Val and ML, I've never played a tabletop RPG. Unlike them, I always play more or less the way real me would, unless I really don't care about the story. Then I usually end up trying to see how indifferent/annoying the rules will let me be.

I've never made the slightest attempt to play a character that actually looks anything like me, though, and I usually play something human or near-human.

Bump because Apollo the Just died too. He had a really good arc though and my DM threw me a lot of RPing bones. Being an angsty demonspawn cleric who renounces his heritage and serves a good goddess of Light, in the grimdark vampire gothic setting of Curse of Strahd, could NOT have been a better fit if I tried. (Also I was hella useful bc FIRE RESISTANCE + RADIANT DAMAAAAGEEEEE.) Apollo survived many near death situations but alas we all died in a party wipe at the Amber Temple because we underestimated a foe.... but he went out trying to res a party member and shining light on ****, so. A fitting, if untimely, end.

My NEW new character is named Lloyd Dirkson-Irvingham. He's a half-Dwarf fighter (I worked with my DM on this and it's mechanically basically just a Dwarf with some minor changes) who two weapon fights. I made him because after Apollo I got real sick of keeping track of spell slots and **** so I decided to just hit things with swords, and because I heckin love Lloyd Irving.

....I'm two for two so far, so chances aren't good, but I'm REALLY HOPING Lloyd doesn't die before the end of this campaign

Yeah, Apollo had a good show but unfortunately he can't Rest In Peace because Strahd is a dick. He's just gonna be eternally miserable unless some other better party comes along and saves everyone I'm afraid

Both my characters in the RPs I'm still playing are still alive. I nearly died twice in Crimson Skies RP. My character is also named Scotty McGee. I did some Indiana Jones **** when our mission was to eliminate these enemy blimps. It takes forever to shoot them down but then I had an idea when I asked the DM "Hey, can I roll to dive down and shoot the cockpit?" and he was like "Uhhh yeah, I guess you can do that." And I did it and everyone followed suit and it was awesome.